AN arrest warrant was issued yesterday for a man who failed to turn up at court to be sentenced for a handbag snatch.

Michael O'Brien, 29, of Witton Crescent, Darlington, grabbed the bag from a woman shopping in Angate Street in the Weardale market town of Wolsingham, County Durham, in April last year.

He admitted theft at Durham Crown Court last month, when sentence was adjourned for probation reports.